5 Steps To Take To Protect Against Cyber Crime

BizBritain By BizBritain
about 6 years ago read
5 Steps To Take To Protect Against Cyber Crime

Groups like Anonymous and LulzSec have waged war on many businesses over the past couple of years, with cyber attack after cyber attack hitting the industry hard. While many of the business industry's most successful companies have fallen foul to cyber attacks, there's no need to panic. The fact is that usually, it's larger and more well-known brands who are targets, but even so, it's imperative that businesses of all shapes and sizes take action to protect themselves. The problem with cybercrime is that often it means that sensitive data is released and ends up in the wrong hands, with the consequences being dire for the company. This is what makes protecting your business from cybercrime so vital, regardless of its size.

Bearing that in mind, the question is: what are the most important steps any business can take to protect against cybercrime? Below is a guide to five of the most vital steps that every company – big or small – should take to protect themselves. 

1. Use strong passwords

To strengthen your company's cybersecurity, implementing strong passwords is one of the easiest steps you can take and one of the most vital. For a hard-to-crack password, use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols, in a random password. You should avoid using personal data, such as your child's birthday, when your sports team won a big match or a sequence of letters of numbers.

2. IT support

Having IT support on hand to help manage your online security and deal with threats is vital, as it can also be crucial to have IT support on hand in case any cybercrime does occur. This is because the right IT support can help to limit the damage done and reduce the risk of long-term downtime. You can find effective IT support from specialist websites like Torix.co.uk that can offer you the protection and support that your company needs. If there's one service not to skimp on, it's IT support.

3. Install antivirus protection

When it comes to online protection, anti-virus is crucial. If you want to reduce your risk of cyber threats, you need to have adequate protection in place. Should an unwanted cyber attack attempt to take down your company, your antivirus protection is the last line of defense, which is why it needs to be strong and secure.

4. Don't skip updates

There seems to be a common misconception that computer and software updates aren't necessary. However, this isn't the case, when it comes to security, they most definitely are essential. After all, there's no point installing the best software if you aren't going to maintain it, is there? Remember, software which you don’t properly maintain, never works as well.

5. Educate your team members

You can't fight and win the battle of cybercrime alone, you need allies, and your team members are your allies, but only if you educate them. Take the time to teach your employees safe online habits, to ensure that when it comes to how they use your company systems, they do so safely and securely.

Cybercrime is becoming an increasingly serious problem for businesses of all shapes and sizes, which is why it's so vital that every company takes it seriously from the get-go.